The State agency shall, in cooperation with participating local agencies, publicly announce and distribute information on the availability of program benefits (including the eligibility criteria for participation and the location of local agencies operating the program) to offices and organizations that deal with significant numbers of potentially eligible individuals (including health and medical organizations, hospitals and clinics, welfare and unemployment offices, social service agencies, farmworker organizations, Indian tribal organizations, organizations and agencies serving homeless individuals and shelters for victims of domestic violence, and religious and community organizations in low income areas).

The information shall be publicly announced by the State agency and by local agencies at least annually.

The State agency and local agencies shall distribute the information in a manner designed to provide the information to potentially eligible individuals who are most in need of the benefits, including pregnant women in the early months of pregnancy.

Each local agency operating the program within a hospital and each local agency operating the program that has a cooperative arrangement with a hospital shall—

(i) advise potentially eligible individuals that receive inpatient or outpatient prenatal, maternity, or postpartum services, or accompany a child under the age of 5 who receives well-child services, of the availability of program benefits; and

(ii) to the extent feasible, provide an opportunity for individuals who may be eligible to be certified within the hospital for participation in such program.